How to Win Using the Queen’s Gambit Declined

When I play chess, I like to make an aggressive chess opening and one of my favorite openings is the Queen’s Gambit. However, this topic is extremely big and I decided to talk about only the Queen’s Gambit Declined in this article. The second part of this article is the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. Great chess players, at international levels, such as Capablanca, Rubinstein, Bernstein, Smyslov, Korchnoi, Tal, Karpov and the great Garry Kasparov included in their repertoire the Queen’s Gambit. Let’s see the Queen’s Gambit Declined.

The Basic Moves and Player Objectives on Queen’s Gambit Declined

In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Black denies capturing the pawn at c4 square. Let’s see a theoretical example of Queen’s Gambit Declined.

Illustrative games

In order to, further understand the Queen’s Gambit Declined it is crucial to see it in action by some of the greatest players ever existed. This way, you will be able to get more knowledge in less time. Also, memorizing moves is not the right way to learn chess and if you want to improve your skills then, you should focus on the way of thinking and the reasons behind each move. I think the following games offer valuable lessons.

Semi-Slav Defense

Charousek (Petrosian) Variation

Orthodox Defence

Alexander Alekhine was a World Champion in chess and he was famous for his aggressive chess openings. He wasn’t afraid any opponent and on the following game, he sacrifices his central pawns in order to rapidly attack his enemy. His opponent, Geza Maroczy responded too late which was enough for a crushing defeat.

Semi-Slav Defense

Recommended Books and Courses

Any opening including the Queen’s Gambit Declined can lead to many variations. So, mastering this opening is all about knowing the right moves to make. In my opinion, only a book can provide many examples of all major variations. Nowadays, QGD is an opening that many Grandmasters use and it is a very good idea to use it as well. After some research, I have selected the following books that I think are excellent.

  1. How to Beat 1 d4. It contains examples of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted
  2. Queen’s Gambit Declined by Matthew Sadler
  3. The Queen’s Gambit Declined: Move by Move
  4. Starting Out: Queen’s Gambit Declined

If you don’t like reading, there are video courses that will give you condensed knowledge and not unnecessary information. If you are struggling to win in chess, it’s a great way to rapidly improve your skills and learn your mistakes from the courses’ exercises. You can check out the following courses.

Conclusion

It’s a good idea to check my article on Queen’s Gambit Accepted. You can read other articles that I have written about other openings on this website. Queen’s Gambit Declined is a basic opening of the game that everyone should study it. Despite the fact that it is an aggressive chess opening, a player who doesn’t like to play this way should still be aware of this opening. Please don’t hesitate to comment or share this article with others. Enjoy chess.

2 thoughts on “How to Win Using the Queen’s Gambit Declined”

    • Thanks for the comment! I use an old but simple program called chess pad. You will probably find a better one with a little research.

      Reply

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